Christmas card fun with a dash of pain.

Every year I have a mad panic

right at Christmas time

as I haven't made any cards

and usually I beg Little Miss to make

cards for me.

She is really clever with stamps 

and design and she is only 12.

This year I was determined to make 

at least a few cards myself.

Now you can forget stamping

as I couldn't stamp the side of a barn,

so I decided to do some

quick

 (yeah right)

water colour cards.

I started with some thin

(that was my first mistake)

smooth

(that was my second mistake)

water colour paper and cut

it to size for cards.

 Then drew some baubles

and used the gloopy stuff

to create quick patterns on them.

 

I wet the paper and had fun

blobbing dots of colour into

the background.

My teacher has taught me that

although I love bright colour,

I need to have some muddy

colour in there to make the colour pop.

Hence the darker background.

I painted the baubles

and she was right

the dull colour made the baubles pop.

This is before the gloop was rubbed off and

   

this was after rubbing it off.

I still need to paint in the 

little rings but getting there.

The paper started to curl 

not long after this shot and that

was the trouble, then this

 

 the paint had gone under and

all over the other side.

Plus it won't stand up 

as the paper is too thin.

So, cards take two.

I got out my good paper 

and drew up lots of just the fronts.

I will paint them up

and then cut and stick them

to proper cards.

This paper is much thicker and

has a rougher texture.

The only trouble is that this

surface doesn't keep the crisp

clean colours.

 

 They aren't too bad here

but they have dulled off a lot now.

 

I'll keep playing and hope they 

will turn out okay.

If not it's back to 

Little Miss!